Two companies who recently bought walnuts from Tehama County each reported around 40,000 pounds of the processed nuts stolen in the last two weeks, and deputies are searching for a suspicious delivery driver with a Russian accent who they say is behind it all.

Employees told sheriff's deputies that the driver of a white semi with a Russian accent picked up the load on Oct. 19. The walnuts were purchased by F.C. Bloxom and Co., a Seattle-based company, and to be delivered to Miami.

While investigating the strange report, deputies found out a man who matched the description of that delivery driver had picked up an order of 40,000 walnuts from Los Molinos on Oct. 23 that were supposed to be taken to Texas, deputies said.

In both cases, the driver is described as about 6 feet, 2 inches, and weighing 198 pounds, and he's said to speak with a "very distinctive Russian accent," deputies said. The man somehow got the correct purchase numbers to show the companies in order to pull off the theft, they said.

Altogether, the stolen walnuts are said to be worth just under $300,000, deputies said.